Assisted Living Facility Worker Arrested for Exploiting Elderly Resident

KOKOMO, IN - Today, Indiana State Police Detectives Michelle Jumper and Mike Tarrh arrested William Scott Phillips, 42, at a Kokomo, IN residence that he shared with his parents. The detectives were armed with a Miami Superior Court arrest warrant charging Phillips with one count each of theft and exploitation of an endangered adult, both class D felonies. He was also charged with false informing, a class B misdemeanor. Phillips was incarcerated in the Miami County Jail with a bond of $9,000.  

In November of 2007, Detective Jumper started a criminal investigation after being contacted by the victim’s nephew who reported his 75-year-old-aunt, who was a resident at Caring Hands Catered Living Facility in Peru, IN, had a large sum of money taken from her. Detective Jumper’s investigation revealed that Phillips was employed by Caring Hands Catered Living Facility.

As part of his duties he would take residents on errands. It is alleged that he would drive the 75-year-old victim to different banks and persuaded her to withdraw money from her various accounts. The victim has a medical condition that causes her to forget daily events. Detective Jumper’s investigation also revealed Phillips allegedly tried to persuade the victim to sign her power-of-attorney over to him. That effort was thwarted when an attorney refused to work with Phillips. 

Phillips is alleged to have stolen over $2,400 from the victim, but it could have been more if not for the actions of an alert bank teller. Phillips purportedly drove the victim to a bank and persuaded her to withdraw a large sum of money from her account. One of the bank tellers recognized Phillips as someone she had negative dealings with in the past. She contacted the bank where the victim’s accounts are held. The victim’s bank then contacted her power-of-attorney who stopped the transaction. 

"An alert bank teller not taking things at face value and doing some fact checking helped prevent the further victimization of an elderly customer," stated Detective Jumper. "The bank took an active role in preventing a crime and provided us with information that led to the arrest of a suspect who was allegedly preying on the elderly."

This is an ongoing investigation.

Source: Indiana State Police Press Release

Technorati Tags: News State Crime / Police Kokomo - IN Michelle Jumper Mike Tarrh Scott Phillips

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